Grounded
by dublin writer
Summary: This is a WHN oneshot that continues on from the epilogue of the third season episode Bird of Prey. It is my interpretation of what I think should have happened next. Knowledge of the episode is I think necessary for the full enjoyment of the story. Disclaimer: All the characters in this story are borrowed from Quinn Martin and they do not belong to me nor do I profit from them.


**Grounded**

**A/N: I dedicate this story to a special lady in the Yahoo Streets of San Francisco Group who is not very well at the minute. I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.  
**

As Mike drove Steve back to the main building on the air base so that Steve could change out of his flight suit the older detective threw occasional glances over at his partner as he drove. Steve had admitted to suffering from some battle fatigue after coming from the jet and Mike had noticed earlier as they had walked to the car that the younger man was gripping his stomach uncomfortably. Also as he drove, he noticed in one of his sideways glances that Steve was rubbing the back of his neck and wincing and for the remainder of the short drive he had laid his head back against the seat with his eyes closed and had been unusually quiet.

The young man looked tired and pale and Mike knew the fact that they had lost Danielson had taken its toll on his partner too. From the air traffic control centre where Mike had been he had heard Steve's voice over the radio yelling at the other pilot to pull his plane up and then silence. When he asked Steve what had happened, it had been Johnson who had replied. Mike knew that meant that Steve had taken the outcome hard. Seeing Steve suffering he had decided to use his "Rank has its privileges" spiel to allow Steve to rest while he drove and Steve had seemed agreeable to the idea.

Arriving back outside the base, Mike parked and got out quickly and worried some more when he saw Steve exiting the car very gingerly.

"Are you alright buddy boy? Maybe we should get a medic to take a look at you huh?" Mike said with concern in his voice as he swore he saw Steve wobble slightly where he stood but in true Keller style, Steve brushed off his concern.

"No Mike. I'm fine. Just tired that's all. Just let me get this gear off and you can drive this weary Captain home, ok?" Steve added teasingly, referring to Mike's earlier revelation of his temporary rank.

"Yes Sir!" Mike answered playfully back and saluted the younger man causing him to laugh heartily.

They entered the building and headed for the changing rooms that were off to the right of the corridor. As they got to the door of the changing room, Steve opened the door and as Mike went to follow, Steve put out his hand and stopped him.

"Mike, I think I can manage to change by myself, thank you very much. Why don't you go wait over there by the coffee machine and I won't be long."

Mike was uneasy leavng the young man to his own devices especially as he seemed so off colour but if Steve didn't want him following then he had to respect his wishes too.

"You sure you'll be ok in there?"

"MIKE! I've been dressing myself since I was six. I think I'll be ok ..." he said smiling and went through the door quickly as Mike swatted the back of his shoulder and mumbled.

"Wiseguy!"

Mike chuckled at Steve's humor and then reluctantly walked over to the coffee machine and rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out some coins and got himself a cup. Then he sat down on a chair opposite the changing room door and waited for Steve to return.

Meanwhile, inside the changing rooms Steve had ducked in the door and closed it behind him. He smiled at Mike's parting nickname and then headed over to the lockers and found the locker that had been assigned to him earlier when his undercover operation had started. Opening it up he started undoing the harnesses and straps. His head was throbbing annoyingly and his stomach was churning uncomfortably.

Truthfully he really hadn't felt great since Peter Johnson had taken him up in the jet the previous day and had performed crazy manoeuvres that he had never been trained for and when the cocky pilot had explained how the G-force could really hurt pilots who hadn't been properly trained he hadn't been kidding! Steve had felt the blood practically drain from his head during the upward climb and the resulting dizziness had pulled him dangerously close to passing out. With all the other manoeuvres that had followed, Steve had found himself practically begging Johnson to get him back on the ground. When they had finally landed and found Mike and Dick Higgins waiting for them he had felt like his legs were made of jelly and his head felt like his brain had been rattled and jumbled inside. While he had flown a few hours in a T33 during his air ROTC training at Berkley, it had been fairly basic stuff and nothing akin to the speed and craziness he had just been subjected to and in that instant he had cursed the fact that he had ever volunteered for the assignment.

The second time he had gone up, Johnson had promised to go easier on the detective and in fairness it had been a more pleasant flight than the first one but the speed and the flight in general had still made him feel queasy and light headed and the sight of Danielson's plane disintegrating into the side of the canyon hadn't helped him feel any better. While this time he hadn't begged the pilot to get them back on the ground, when the jet had landed he couldn't help but feel relieved and vowed never to fly in another one again as long as he lived.

Now as he stood at the locker, his head felt strange. He swayed and grabbed the open locker door to steady himself. With increasing difficulty he managed to remove the flight jumpsuit and managed to get his trousers and his shirt on. He buttoned the shirt shakily and felt increasingly nauseous. He reached for his tie but feeling as dizzy as he suddenly was, he couldn't bring himself to put it on and placed it into the pocket of his jacket that was hanging up on the locker door instead. As he reached for the jacket, his hand started to shake and he felt something wet dripping from his nose and as he grasped at his nose with his hand, to his horror large droplets of blood fell onto his shirt and then through his fingers. He tried to pinch the top of his nose to stop the bleeding but wasn't very successful. The blood continued to drip and Steve's head swam and the last thing he felt was regret at not letting Mike follow him in, as the room around him faded out and the last thing he saw was the ground rising to meet him.

Outside, Mike was growing impatient. Twenty minutes had passed and when Steve never reappeared he was getting uneasy. He had just decided that whether Steve liked it or not he was going to enter the changing room to check on him when a voice called his name and turning around he saw Dick Higgins heading towards him.

"Hey Mike? I just heard what happened. So it was Danielson all along huh? I have to be honest and say that I am very relieved especially for Johnson and Abel and for the base as a whole. I guess that closes the investigation, right?"

"Yes, It most certainly does. And thank you for all your co-operation on this Dick. It's been a pleasure working with you, it really has" and with that Mike warmly shook the other man's hand.

"Likewise, although you will forgive me if I say that I hope for both our sakes we never have to work together anytime soon on other issues such as these." Higgins stated lightheartedly, truly thankful that the base had come out unscathed from the murder investigation." Say where's Steve? You haven't lost him have you? You know I think between you and me, he was getting quite used to being in that uniform."

"Oh, I don't think I have to worry about that. I don't think Steve wants to go flying again anytime soon. That fancy flying lesson Col. Johnson took him on yesterday really knocked him for six and I don't think he was faring much better up there today. He's just in there changing out of his flight gear. Say how long does it take to get all that paraphernalia off anyway? It seems to be taking him a long time."

Dick Higgins suddenly got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Mike? Has Steve had G-force flight training before?"

"I'm not sure but I don't think so. Why?"

"You said he wasn't feeling well yesterday and again today after getting off the jet?"

"Yes. But why the questions?" Mike asked unable to disguise the worry from his voice at the sudden line of questioning he was unexpectedly being subjected to.

"How long has he been in there Mike?"

"Oh about twenty minutes or so. Dick will you please just tell me why you're asking all the questions?" Mike asked feeling his frustration and worry reach fever pitch.

Higgins looked at Mike alarmed.

"Because it doesn't take that long to get that gear off Mike!" he answered as he suddenly turned and raced towards the changing rooms at a sprint with Mike following not far behind his heart racing with panic.

As the two men entered the locker rooms, both their worst fears were realized as they saw the collapsed form of Steve Keller on the floor.

"STEVE!" Mike yelled and raced over to kneel beside his partner who was lying on his stomach, in a crumpled heap, his face turned, resting on his right side.

Higgins joined him and started taking Steve's pulse which thankfully was slow and steady but the young man seemed to be out cold.

"I'll get a medic Mike. Don't move him while I'm gone. He could have hurt himself when he fell." and with that Higgins raced back outside urgently to get some help.

Mike laid a gentle hand on his partner's back and leaned over to get a look at his partner's face. There was blood pooling under his right cheek and Mike sucked in a deep breath fearful now that he had split his head when he fell. But on closer examination Mike could see that it was coming from his nose and although the flow seemed to be stopping, it was still trickling none the less. Seeing that Steve appeared to have fallen face down, his next fear was that perhaps he had broken his nose when he fell.

"Steve? Buddy boy? STEVE? Can you hear me?"

Mike tried his best to rouse his partner to no avail but he persisted all the same. Brushing a hand through his partner's hair, he called Steve's name again two more times. The second time he was rewarded by a very low moan and Steve's eyes began to twitch as if he were trying to open them and come around. However Steve seemed to be having difficulty waking fully which worried Mike even more than he thought possible.

"Steve? Don't try to move now. Help is on the way. Just lie still."

Mike's words seemed to get through the deep fog that had settled on Steve's brain. What had happened ? He wasn't quite sure. Where was he and why was he lying on the floor? Everything was very fuzzy. He finally managed to get his eyes to open and tried to see where he was. But all he saw was green carpet and what seemed to be the legs of a wooden bench. He glanced sideways and upwards and saw Mike's face leaning over him through a blurry haze, his head thumping with a massive headache.

"Mike? ... " he stammered.

"I'm here buddy boy. Just lie still now. Don't try to move."

"What ... happened?" he stammered again hoping Mike could fill him in on the hazy details of why he was lying on the floor in the first place, his head threatening to split wide open.

"I'm not sure Steve. It looks like you collapsed. I was hoping you could tell me. You were getting changed out of your flight gear. When you didn't come out we came looking for you and found you here on the floor." Mike explained very alarmed that the young man seemed to have no recollection of the incident himself.

Flight gear? Getting changed? Snippets of memories started to return and Steve flashed back to standing in front of the locker not so long ago. The dizziness, the nausea and the ... nosebleed! Remembering that, he became aware of the smell of blood and a metallic taste in his mouth and it made him feel like gagging. He also felt something wet and sticky under his right cheek and became alarmed.

"Mike ... my nose started bleeding. I ... I couldn't ... stop it .."

Mike listened carefully.

"Your nose was bleeding before you fell?"

Steve nodded very gingerly but the more he recalled the nose bleed, the more he became aware of the fact that he was most probably lying in a pool of his own blood and that made him shudder and made him feel queasy again.

"Mike? Am I ... lying in blood?"

Mike felt Steve's shudder and knew by the way he asked, that if he said yes, Steve would become unduly alarmed and so he settled for a distracting statement instead.

"Now, now don't worry about that. Just relax and we'll have you sorted in no time at all. Are you hurting anywhere?"

"Headache ... really bad ..." Steve gasped.

Mike placed his hand on the back of Steve's head comfortingly wishing the simple touch could take away his partner's discomfort but instead he could feel his partner getting more uneasy by the second. Steve became aware of drips of blood going down his throat and he gagged again. Mike noticed and wished the medics would hurry up. He knew not much time had passed but every second that ticked by felt like a lifetime to Mike. Noticing Steve gagging a second time Mike asked.

"Steve, what's wrong? Are you going to be sick?"

"Blood ... going down my ... throat " Steve said retching again but that only made the blood enter his mouth and the metallic taste only intensified as a result.

Mike felt helpless. He knew he wasn't to move Steve in case of unknown injuries until he was medically assessed but he also knew from experience that sitting Steve up and leaning him forward was the only way to stop the blood from dripping down the young man's throat and making him sick. As he grappled with what he should do, to his intense relief the door burst open and Higgins hurried in with two military medics carrying a stretcher and a taller man in uniform who seemed very professional and calm carrying a medical bag who Mike figured was the Doctor.

The Doctor reached Steve first and spoke quickly to Mike by way of a very quick introduction.

"Lieutenant, I'm Colonel Neil Bradshaw, Chief Medical Officer at the base. What's the young man's name?"

"His name is Steve Keller. He came around about six minutes ago. He's complaining of a severe headache and said that he had a nosebleed before he passed out. It's still bleeding and the blood is going down his throat and making him feel sick. I didn't know whether I should move him or not?"

"No, you were right not to move him. Steve? I'm Col. Bradshaw, Chief Medical Officer. I need to assess you quickly. Is your neck sore at all? "

Steve heard the different voice talking to him and looked up to see the new person who had arrived. With the blood continuing to drip down his throat, making him feel like retching and his head throbbing mercilessly, he found it hard to answer so he shook his head carefully instead.

Bradshaw examined Steve's neck gently and satisfied that there was no neck injury, with the help of his colleagues he gently and carefully turned Steve around onto his back first. The right side of Steve's face was covered in a mix of congealed and fresh blood, some of it matted to the side of his hair. The movement onto his back made the blood drip even more steadily down Steve's throat and he gagged and choked, his eyes widening in alarm.

"He's choking!" Mike yelled, his heart skipping a beat in the process.

Expertly, Bradshaw turned the young man into the recovery position to clear Steve's airways and Steve coughed and retched and spat up blood and his breathing settled but from where Mike still knelt he could see Steve's hands shaking violently from the shock of what had happened. Then without any further delay Steve was lifted onto the stretcher by all those present, still in the recovery position and was carried off towards Bradshaw's Medical room. Mike grabbed Steve's belongings from the open locker quickly and hurried out after them, running to catch up with the fast moving stretcher so that Steve could still see him if he needed reassurance but to Mike's dismay Steve's eyes were closed again by the time he reached him.

Moments later, they had arrived at the Medical room and Steve was placed on a more comfortable surface. Mike stood back at the doorway for several minutes so as not to be in the way as frenzied activity took place. An IV was placed in Steve's right arm, his nose was packed with cotton wadding and pressure was placed on the bridge of his nose. The side of his head and his mouth were cleaned of blood and his head was checked for cuts or other reasons for the bleeding but thankfully no cuts were found. Then finally blood pressure checks and other vital sign assessments were carried out and a painkiller was administered to ease the young man's discomfort. After all this was done the activity relaxed a good deal and Mike felt confident enough to move forward.

"How is he Colonel? "

"He's doing better. The nose bleed is under control and while his vital signs are a little erratic that's to be expected after such a scary episode so I'm not unduly worried. The pain meds should ease his headache too soon enough."

"What happened? Was it the flying that caused that?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. From what Dick told me he was exposed to some tricky jet manoeuvres yesterday. Without proper G-force training, such pressure changes can have an adverse effect on the human body. In some of the manoeuvres, the G-force causes the blood to drain from the upper body and pool in the lower half. The pilots are trained to force the blood back upwards so as to prevent themselves from blacking out but without that training, it can be a very traumatic experience and can cause some after effects for a day or two. Did he mention if he blacked out during the flight or did he complain of a headache since the incident yesterday?"

Mike was still stunned by what he had just heard. Steve had looked like death warmed up after landing yesterday and Mike remembered how he had teased him about his supposed ROTC training and suddenly felt consumed with guilt. He remembered how he had been leaning against the ladder, his hair slick with sweat and how he had been coughing and breathing erratically. Mike had given him very little sympathy and yet he had noticed even in the conference room afterwards as they had watched the film, that even though Steve had managed to clean himself up, he had still looked dazed and in hindsight, Mike reckoned he had probably been feeling lousy but as usual he hadn't said a thing. Looking at Col. Bradshaw dolefully he shook his head.

"He never said anything but he did look rough for most of yesterday and then today he went back up in the jet again and the only thing he admitted to afterwards was feeling a little battle fatigued. I should have kept a closer eye on him ... Will he ... be ok now or will there be any more after effects?"

"No he should be alright now. I'd like to keep him here for two or three hours on the IV infusion and monitor him if that's ok. After that you can take him home but he'll need to take it easy for a day or two just to be on the safe side. There shouldn't be any more lasting effects though. His metabolism just needs to recover from the shock of the rapid pressure changes on his system that's all. Rest is the best cure for that."

"Ok Colonel ... that's good to hear. And of course you can watch him. Just one thing though, the nosebleed. Did the G-force you spoke about cause that too?"

"Yes, almost certainly. The gravity pulls the upper features down as the blood drains from the upper body. I'd wager that it weakened a blood vessel in his nose and the second flight today caused it to weaken further. When it burst, the blood loss combined with his already dizzy and shaky state caused the collapse. He was actually lucky he didn't cause further damage to himself when he fell."

"Is he conscious?"

"He's been floating in and out a little but he's out at the minute. There's no harm in that though. You can sit with him if you like. He'll probably be glad to see a friendly face when he comes to again."

Mike looked past the Colonel at his partner and his heart sank. Propped on his left side, his face ghostly pale, he looked strange with his nose packed with cotton wadding and the right side of his hair damp from where the blood had been washed off. He had his eyes closed still and with a needle and tubing leading from his arm, Mike was almost glad he didn't seem to be fully conscious yet. Thanking the Doctor for all his help he took a seat and sat beside Steve and from up close he looked even worse.

Another forty minutes passed before Steve woke up again but this time waking up proved easier than before. He opened his eyes at the first attempt and the first sight that he saw was Mike leaning forward with his elbows on his knees fingering his fedora with a distracted faraway look in his eyes.

"Mike? ..." Steve managed to croak as his throat felt dry and the awful metallic taste still lingered.

Startled alert, Mike looked up and quickly pulled his chair in closer towards the bed.

"Well, buddy boy. Good to see you back with us. How are you feeling?"

Steve reached a hand up to his face and tentatively felt his nose which was feeling strange and feeling the cotton protruding from the nostrils he winced remembering the nose bleed a little too vividly and figuring that he must look quite a sight.

"Probably better than I look ..." he said chuckling but instantly regretted the laughter as his head protested to the movement. "Ow! My head feels like it was put in a vice."

"That's because it was." Mike stated flatly but when Steve looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face he decided he had better explain further. "An air pressure vice. When you went up in that jet yesterday those reckless manoeuvres that clown Johnson pulled to get you to fess up was the equivalent of putting your head in a vice "

Steve seemed to be processing what Mike had just told him and then he remembered Johnson's words about the G-force and how it could hurt. However he chose to try and forget how he felt during those dives and ascents as the memory was far too horrific and sickening to recall.

"Mike? Could I have some water please. I can still taste blood in my mouth." Steve asked, shuddering at the vile taste that wouldn't leave him.

"Here, drink a bit of this soda instead. It might get rid of the taste better." Mike said fetching the soda he had purchased for that exact purpose while Steve had slept and helping Steve sit up a little he helped him drink some of the sweet tasting liquid.

As Steve drank half the glass he then lay back down relieved that the metallic taste seemed to have finally left him.

"Why didn't you tell me how bad it had been, buddy boy? We could have had you checked out yesterday and avoided this unpleasant episode."

Steve looked away embarrassed and then knowing an answer was expected from him he mumbled sheepishly "You mean even with all my ROTC training huh?"

Mike knew he had been trapped by the truth. He had made light of the situation yesterday, thus making it even harder for the young man to admit how he was feeling. As the guilt returned full force he patted Steve's arm and spoke apologetically.

"You're right. I'm guilty as charged! I guess I didn't really give you a chance to tell me anything did I? Did you black out up there?"

"No ... came close though. Things kind of zoomed in and out ..."

Mike looked annoyed with himself for not being more sympathetic and Steve felt guilty too, not intending to make the older man feel bad so he added.

"It's ok Mike. You're right I should have said something. Sorry."

"No, it's not ok Steve. I shouldn't have teased you and so it's me that should be sorry.

Steve chuckled a little more carefully this time.

"Let's just both agree to be sorry and move on huh? "

"Good idea!" Mike agreed then deciding to turn things more positive he added "The Colonel says you can go home in an hour or two but he says you have to take it easy for a day or two and he's not keen on you going home alone for tonight so you know what that means don't you?"

Steve groaned playfully.

"Detention at De Haro Street huh?"

"You got it buddy boy and NO arguments ok?"

Steve felt too tired and sore to argue so he just nodded that he understood his fate .

Two hours later Steve felt more human. The cotton wadding had been removed under strict instructions for him to be extra careful for a day or two when sneezing or if he needed to blow his nose and his headache had been banished by the pain meds. He still felt a little light headed but the Colonel assured him that would improve too as the evening wore on. As Mike helped Steve on with his jacket and they both thanked the Colonel for his medical assistance, Steve's face fell as he saw a medic wheel a wheelchair into the room.

"Oh No! No, I don't need that thing. I can walk thank you very much. I didn't lose the power in my legs you know?"

"Oh you didn't huh? Seems to me you lost the power in your legs when you landed in a heap on the changing room floor or have you forgotten that fact. Now SIT buddy boy!"

"Aw Mike, come on." Steve pleaded but the glare followed and Steve knew he had little choice so he reluctantly and sulkily sat into the chair as Mike took over the pushing of it.

"Don't be difficult Steve. You're still a Captain until we leave this base so you just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride buddy boy."

As Mike pushed Steve out through the building, Steve almost turned every shade of crimson as he was pushed past all the air force personnel who eyed him up with curiosity and just as the front doors came into sight and Steve breathed a sigh of relief that his ordeal was almost over a voice called Steve's name from behind them and Mike wheeled the chair around to see who was calling him. Peter Johnson came running up out of breath followed by Dick Higgins and Steve cringed even further as he attempted to rise from the chair only to be stopped and pushed back down by Mike's firm hand.

"STEVE! I'm glad I caught you before you left. I just bumped into Dick here and he told me what happened. God man! I'm really sorry. I never meant for you to be hurt by what I did yesterday. "

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you took a civilian you knew had no G-force training on one of your thrill rides!" Mike yelled at Johnson surprising all three men who were gathered beside him but not being able to restrain himself after the suffering the devil may care pilot had caused Steve due to his thoughtless stunt.

Steve turned a deeper shade of red than ever and he spoke to Mike pleadingly.

"MIKE! Take it easy will ya?"

But before Mike had a chance to answer Steve, Johnson spoke first.

"No, that's alright Steve. The Lieutenant is right. I shouldn't have subjected you to that especially when I knew you had no official training. You could have been hurt worse than you were. I really am sorry. I hope you'll be ok. I know you were only doing your job. If you want to press official charges with the Base Commander I perfectly understand."

Steve flustered.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. I'm fine ... " and seeing Mike's glare from the corner of his eye he added. "Or at least I will be. No hard feelings." he added as he offered his hand to the remorseful looking pilot.

Johnson smiled at the young detective and shook his hand warmly.

"That's very good of you Steve. I promise I've learnt my lesson and anytime you want to go flying just give me a call and I promise I'll go easy on you."

Steve laughed.

"Well, thanks for the offer but I think from now on the Police chopper is the only thing I'm going to be flying in, thank you very much."

Steve, Johnson and Higgins all laughed but Mike remained quite serious feeling that Steve had let Johnson off a little too lightly under the circumstances.

"It's been a pleasure gentlemen." Higgins announced and shook hands with Mike and Steve and as the two detectives took their leave of the other two men, Mike reluctantly shook hands with Johnson too after Steve had given him a look that said he should.

Mike then wheeled Steve outside and down to where the car was parked and Steve got up slowly and sat into the passenger side reaching into the glove box and retrieving a pair of sunglasses and putting them on to protect his eyes from the late afternoon sun. Mike returned the wheelchair and then hurried back to the car and sat into the driver's side but before he started the engine he looked over at his partner who was resting his head against the back of the seat.

"You alright Steve?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm ok. Just a little tired that's all. You don't really think I should have pressed charges do you? I mean I think he was genuinely sorry and I don't think he'd ever do it again."

"I don't know buddy boy. I just think you could at least have let him stew for a bit longer after what he did. You do know that you could have been more seriously hurt than you were don't you?"

Steve nodded thoughtfully and Mike then decided it was time to let the subject be and lighten the mood.

"I hope you know that from now on as far as I'm concerned you are officially grounded young man. No more high flying jet stunts for you buddy boy! I don't think my heart could stand it."

Steve chuckled.

"Don't worry. You won't get any arguments for me on that score. That's one grounding that I am more than happy to accept. I can handle that."

"You can huh?"

"Yeah, and you know what else I could handle right now?" Steve said rubbing his stomach again and causing Mike to worry a little.

"What?"

A mischievous smile played around Steve's lips as he answered.

"Pizza from Mamas with NO anchovies. "

"No ... sorry that's a deal breaker Steve." Mike said flatly enjoying the return of normality.

Steve's smile fade and he protested.

"Oh come on Mike, I'll even pay how's that?"

It was Mike's turn to smile mischievously .

"You'll pay?"

"Yeah."

"Large pizza, half and half, anchovies on my side?" Mike bargained.

"ALRIGHT! You've got yourself a deal!" Steve exclaimed triumphantly as Mike turned on the engine and the two detectives drove off in good spirits, another case solved and as a Jet zoomed overheard and Steve watched it fly off into the distance he was quite happy to be officially grounded from now on.


End file.
